The spring full moon earlier this week signaled significant days for several religions. Holi and Purim featured last week. Today is Good Friday, the start of the Easterweekend (find hints in the picture).
There is a European tradition that Good Friday is a time for planting, especially potatoes. Spring is often a good time to plant, though the added “benefit” of the full moon seems scientifically baseless.
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Native to South America and was first domesticated by the indigenous populations several thousand years ago. Spanish conquistadors brought the potato to Europe where it became the major starchy food crop. Today, the largest potato producers are China and India, together producing 40% of the world crop (FAO, 2023).
Potatoes propagate vegetatively via edible tubers, whose main component (besides water)is starch. The starch provides important nutrition for some, “empty calories” for others, but potatoes are also important sources of dietary fibre (especially the skin), minerals and vitamins. Because potatoes are not dried like grain crops, they retain significant amounts of Vitamin C. Potatoes, like other nightshades, can accumulate toxic glycoalkaloids such as solanine. You can avoid poisoning by not eating green potatoes.
Besides nutrition, potatoes find many uses in alternative medicine (Umadevi et al, 2013). In cosmetics the starch serves as a thickening agent. Azelaic acid, though not unique to potatoes, is mentioned in many articles on potatoes and skincare as it inhibits tyrosinase to reduce skin pigmentation. While we usually talk about using just extracted phytochemicals, Lee at al(2023) present a fascinating alternative, using potato exosomes (cell-derived vesicles)that contain phytochemicals and enzymes too.
So, don’t be a couchpotato; go and plant some.
References
🥔 FAO (2023). World Food and Agriculture –Statistical Yearbook 2023. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8166en
🥔 Robertson TM et al (2018). Starchy Carbohydrates in a Healthy Diet: The Role of the Humble Potato. Nutrients, 10(11),1764. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111764
🥔Umadevi M et al (2013). Health Benefits and Cons of Solanum tuberosum. J Medicinal Plants Studies 1:16-25. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:220689559
🥔 Lee, Y., Jeong, D. Y., Jeun,Y. C., Choe, H., & Yang, S. (2023). Preventive and ameliorative effects of potato exosomes on UVB‑induced photodamage in keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Molecular medicineMolecularmedicine reports, 28(3), 167. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2023.13054
